Inconsistent Disciplining
I am a student teacher and I have volunteered to participate in a special group of student teachers who are interested in teaching in diverse settings. One of the participants in our first group meeting was telling us about her disciplinary methods. When the white children in her class misbehave she sternly reprimands them because, she believes, they know the rules and they know what they are supposed to do. However, when the seven African American students misbehave, she gives them another chance because she wants them to know she cares. I have to react to this person and perhaps explain to her what the consequences of her action could be. What should I do and say? I am not even sure if her methods are actually good or bad.

If the students are functioning at the same level, I feel unequal treatment is not fair to all of the students. I would tell the person that the consequences of her inconsistent disciplining can be detrimental to all of the students. The African American kids will not take her as seriously because they know they have a "free pass" on the first offense. The white kids will see this unequal treatment and most likely act out again regardless of the stern reprimanding. The white kids might also point out in class and ask why she treats them unequal, which can cause a huge problem and have major repercussions if she does not answer correctly while being put on the spot.

Consistency, consistency consistency! A strong reprimand should be issued to all students who are misbehaving as a preemptive measure to warn if this intolerable behavior continues that the consequences will become much more severe. You give them a second chance because you assume that they aren't getting any love at home or their home life may be more difficult as a result they act out for attention. Well everyone's life is hard at some point and always to varying degrees. Some students don't have fathers or mother. Some students live in a bad neighborhood. Some are poor. This is not an excuse to misbehave. What they may actually be lacking at home is discipline and school is most certainly a place where students should come not only to get an education but also to learn how to be and conduct themselves as responsible, well behaved (w/personality) young men and women. Some parents work two or three jobs in order to provide for their family. This often leaves little time to teach the children about values and ethics and how a young man or woman should act. A teacher is to be a model example for their students so that those who might not have Life's little Lessons at home can pick up a little extra knowledge at school.

you could bring it up in casual conversation asking her about why she feels as though she needs to so this and how you feel it could be negatively effecting her class room. most teachers are pretty open to others opinions because they may not see things the way others do. This teacher unknowingly is showing signs of racism something that could potentially get her in trouble so i believe coming out and discussing it with her is the best method.

Inconsistency is the number one cause of poor classroom management. It can be difficult to be consistent, but your rules should be designed around consistency. This is not only unfair, it is hurting the African American students. If she wants to show them she cares, she should treat them the same and discipline them the same. Discipline comes from the Latin word disciplina which means to teach. You don't have to jump to punishment for every student. Different things work differently depending on the student. However, disciplining students differently based on race is unacceptable. She is denying these students their right to be taught appropriate behavior as well as the other students are being taught.

I would first watch and see if you believe her methods to be good or bad. I would then ask her questions regarding the situation and to dig further into WHY she treats the students differently. I would then ask her if she feels like there could be consequences for her actions, and if she believes that there is a racial discrimination behind her decisions. By shadowing the situation you may get greater insight into how you would react in a similar situation.

I would remind her that rules are rules and in the classroom there are no set of rules for blacks and no set of rules for whites. This type of thing can turn out bad in the long run, students should be reminded that they are exspected to follower all rules in class or on the school campus.

I would first ask her what she thinks she can truthfully accomplish by doing this. As her to honestly think about it and see if it's fair. Though it's not always about being fair in a classroom, your goal as a teacher is to make sure each students' needs are being met but intentionally being stern to one race and giving another race extra chances isn't fair and it's not helping anyone. I would talk to her and ask her how it has been working for her. Ask her if she has noticed if the white children are maybe acting out more now and possibly even the African American students too, since they know they are going to get away with it. You could explain to her there are ways to show them she cares (but that she needs to do it to all children not just the African American ones) but letting them off the hook isn't one of them. I would just ask her to reflect on what she has been doing and think about the results to see if she things they are working. I'm sure once you allow her the chance to think about it, she'll see it's not the best idea and will be willing to change what she is doing.

There is a reason a teacher should have a few rules in place in the classroom, and I have never been in a classroom that had a rule on the wall that was one way for one set of people and another way for another set of people. I would find out why she uses this strange method and remind her that she is setting herself up for a battle of wills later on. It will always be, can I have one more chance, but can I have one more please. She needs to draw the line in the sand and say this is the rule and follow that rule for all students.

I believe students need to see consistency, especially in the area of discipline. There needs to be a balanced system where students know exactly what is expected of them and exactly what will happen if they break the rules. If this in an elem school, students also pay a great deal of attention to what is fair and what is not. Teachers should be teaching equality. I think making a suggestion to the teacher could be helpful and hopefully she will respect your opinion.

This has to be one of my biggest pet peeves. Being inconsistent in your discipline plan will only lead to chaos because no students will take you seriously. Also, students will begin to feel like the other students are being favored by the teacher. Everyone in the classroom should be able to follow the same rules that everyone else does. Even if they are in Kindergarten, 12th grade, or anywhere in between. The teacher should also have the same expectations in behavior. All it takes is one student to misbehave before more jump on the bandwagon. I would maybe say that you hadn't ever heard of a plan like that and see what she thinks are the positives and the negatives. Maybe you can ask to sit in on her class for a little bit to see how it works and then maybe you can give her some feedback. She could also do the same for you.

You should let her know that continuing this way of disciplining will only cause more misbehavior in the classroom. The black students will continue to act out because they know that they'll never get in any trouble. The white students will act out because they're just tired of getting different treatment. Students sense when teachers treat other students differently. This might also cause some students to be unmotivated in class. While she's constantly showing one group of students that she cares, she's leaving out another group. They may start to think that nothing they do will be able to please her, so they will just give up on everything (school work included).

As an educator, she must remain consistent. She needs to enforce the rules in the same manner with all of the students. Inconsistency is a major downfall with classroom management, and you don't want to lose control of your classroom because of it. I believe that all of the students are aware of the rules, not just the white ones. The other seven may have simply found a way to play her. She may need to set a date and announce that changes will start on that date. At this point in the school year, everyone should understand and follow the rules, unless they want to suffer the consequences of their actions.

The teacher needs to follow through with each student. By allowing the African American students to receive another chance, the white students can see the unfairness. All students should be held to the same expectations.